Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 358 - 89: Assessment

After a brief pause, Hong Fu’s voice rang out from the Realm Token. "Chen, your application has been accepted.

The assessment is scheduled for 3:00 PM on June fifth in the dedicated assessment hall on the sixtieth floor. The head examiner is Jiang Tian. Please arrive at the designated location punctually. Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of your qualification for this assessment."

Since his assessment was the next day, Chen Chuan avoided any overly strenuous training in hopes of getting a high evaluation score. After taking his medicine, he just did some light Scattering Hand exercises and practiced his Breathing Technique to conserve his energy.

On the afternoon of the fifth, at 2:50 PM, Chen Chuan changed into his school uniform, gathered his things, and, with the Snow Monarch Blade in hand, took the elevator to the sixtieth floor.

When the elevator doors opened, he walked down a short corridor and entered the assessment area. He found that the entire floor was a vast training ground, stretching out as far as the eye could see.

The teachers and students responsible for the assessment were already waiting by the entrance to the hall.

One of them was clearly the head examiner, Jiang Tian. He was a man in his thirties with long hair and a messy beard. With the top button of his collar undone and his hands shoved in his pockets, his unruly appearance made him look more like an artist.

Not far from him was an assistant teacher in charge of recording the assessment. The last person was a student around twenty years old, who was presumably the senior student assigned to spar with him.

After all, the skill gap between a teacher and a recently enrolled student was quite large. While a teacher could make a better judgment, a completely one-sided match could negatively affect the student’s performance.

"Ah, you’re here." Teacher Jiang looked at him, his casual tone making it sound as if he were asking if he’d eaten yet.

"Hello, Teacher Jiang," Chen Chuan greeted him.

The other student sized Chen Chuan up and gave him a friendly nod.

Chen Chuan returned the nod politely.

The assistant teacher responsible for recording glanced up at the two of them before looking down again, unconsciously tapping his pen. He was already wishing this would be over quickly.

This was because any student subject to this kind of assessment usually had very limited skills, making it a rather boring affair.

Teacher Jiang flipped through Chen Chuan’s file. "Oh? In just a few short months, your grades have gone from low to upper-mid. And this isn’t even your most recent record. You didn’t apply for an assessment back then. Did you think you still had room for improvement? Hmm, let’s see how you perform in a bit..."

Chen Chuan said, "Teacher Jiang, I’m ready."

The assistant teacher reminded him from the side, "Chen, please wait a moment. You’re not the only one who applied for an assessment today. There’s another student ahead of you."

Just then, they heard the sound of the elevator doors opening outside. A male student, about half a head shorter than Chen Chuan, walked in.

He walked up, looking slightly nervous, and said to the group, "Hello, teachers. And hello, Senior. My name is Liang Xin."

Teacher Jiang said, "We’re not scheduled to start yet, but since you’re here, let’s begin. The sooner we finish the evaluation, the sooner we can all go home and rest."

The assistant teacher said, "You can use the weapons you’ve brought or choose one from the weapon rack here. You should have already read the specific assessment rules, so I won’t repeat them."

Liang Xin hadn’t brought a weapon with him. He walked over to the side, picked up a three-meter-long spear, and hefted it before walking to the center of the training area and taking his position.

The assistant teacher watched him. It was rare for a student to use such a long spear, as it was an inconvenient weapon to carry around.

Even with a telescoping or detachable shaft, it would require an extra step to extend or assemble it during a fight. Without a teammate providing cover, who would give you that opportunity? It would be better to prepare two short batons or short spears. Even a Three-Section Staff would be more convenient.

Teacher Jiang then turned to the senior student and asked, "Guo, how about it?"

"No problem, Teacher," Guo replied. He walked to the side and also picked up a long spear, though his was slightly shorter than Liang’s, just over two meters long.

The assistant teacher picked up his clipboard to take notes. Although Hong Fu could record the entire process, these assessments required a paper file for cross-referencing.

A student’s performance and how much of their potential they displayed was up to them, but the final score depended on the head examiner. Whether the grading was strict or lenient could make a huge difference.

These two students were relatively lucky. Their head examiner was rather easy-going; as long as they didn’t perform too poorly, he would pass them.

After getting his hands on the long spear, Liang’s earlier nervousness vanished, replaced by a spirited confidence. As soon as Teacher Jiang announced the start, he immediately leveled his spear and aimed it at Guo.

After their gazes locked for a moment, Liang made the first move, thrusting his spear toward Guo. Just then, Guo suddenly ducked into the attack and then, using the momentum of rising back up, slid his own spear shaft hard against Liang’s incoming one.

In that instant, a turbulent Power surged through the shaft. Liang’s hands went numb, his grip failed, and the spear rolled out of his palms. He realized what was happening and tried to regain his hold, but Guo’s spear was already pointing at his chest, forcing him to retreat.

Guo then hooked the falling spear with the top of his foot, catching it in his hand. He took a step back, planted the butt of the spear on the ground, and said, "Junior, there’s no need to continue."

The main point of this assessment was weapon-handling skill. Now that he had been disarmed, there was naturally no reason to go on.

Liang clearly hadn’t expected the assessment to be over in a single exchange. His face turned pale.

Chen Chuan had witnessed the entire process from the sidelines. On the surface, it seemed Senior Brother Guo had simply shown excellent timing. In reality, he had predicted where his opponent’s first thrust would go. It wasn’t that his judgment was exceptionally good; rather, his initial stance and the way he held his spear had subtly baited his opponent into attacking a specific spot.

It was a gap in combat experience and intelligence. Liang’s loss was unfortunate, because if it had been a true contest of skill, the gap between them wouldn’t have been nearly so large.

Liang seemed to have figured out why he lost. His expression was full of indignation and refusal to accept the outcome. He felt that he had just been careless for a moment. If they were to fight properly, he definitely wouldn’t be led astray again and would surely be able to display his true skill.

Teacher Jiang spoke up. "Alright, Liang. If you’re not satisfied, you’ll have one more chance for an assessment later, but it will have to be after this student, Chen, is finished."

Hearing this, Liang obediently stepped to the side. ’Although he had a second chance, the evaluation score certainly wouldn’t be as high as it could have been for the first attempt. Still, it was better than nothing.’

The assistant teacher then looked at Chen Chuan. "Chen, it’s your turn."

Chen Chuan looked at Guo and said, "Senior, perhaps you’d like to rest for a moment?"

Guo nodded and stepped to the side to regulate his breathing. Although he had only used one move, that exertion of force had concentrated his entire body’s strength. Furthermore, if he could defeat the student being assessed in a short amount of time, his own evaluation score would increase. He needed to face his opponent in peak condition.

Two minutes later, he had recovered. Still carrying his long spear, he walked back to the center of the training area and nodded to Chen Chuan. "Junior, I’m ready."

Chen Chuan drew his blade from its sheath and stood opposite him. He held the blade with both hands in front of him, the tip pointing directly at his opponent’s centerline.

Guo spread his feet, lowered his center of gravity, and gripped the spear with both hands—one at the very butt, leaving only the tip exposed, and the other holding the rear-middle section. He angled it toward Chen Chuan.

After a brief standoff, Senior Brother Guo made a probing attack, twisting at his waist and hips to send the long spear forward.

But Chen Chuan remained motionless. Even as the long spear was about to strike him, he made no move. Guo frowned slightly, but he wouldn’t be deterred by this. A spear thrust could be a feint, but he judged that Chen Chuan had no way to dodge, so he committed to the strike.

However, at that moment, Chen Chuan sidestepped with incredible speed, impossibly dodging the spear tip. He advanced along the spear’s shaft, his long blade sliding against it as he slashed toward his opponent’s hands.

All Guo had to do was use his core strength to block outward with his spear, and he could parry the oncoming blade. With enough force, he could even sweep Chen Chuan himself aside.

But he suddenly discovered a heavy, sticky Power clinging to his spear. He found he couldn’t shake it off; his strength was clearly no match for his opponent’s. In the end, he had no choice but to release his grip and abandon the spear.

But he didn’t panic. He would not be helpless after abandoning his spear like Liang had been. One of the moves in his Spear Technique was called the Throwing and Catching Technique, which allowed him to retrieve his spear after dropping it and launch a counter-attack.

Normally, he only needed to catch a small section of the spear’s butt with his fingers to use his Power to twist it back into his grip. However, Chen Chuan’s long blade was advancing with steady, fast momentum, giving him no such opportunity. Thus, he could only focus on dodging the incoming slash.

As he turned, a drag-and-lift motion with his rear heel brought the falling spear back up. Now, all he had to do was twist his body with the momentum, grab the spear shaft with both hands, and in one fluid motion, reverse it to stab his opponent with the spike at its butt.

The recording teacher, seeing this move, couldn’t help but silently approve. The Dragon Tail Swing was executed perfectly, allowing him to evade his enemy and counter-attack at the same time.

When Guo spun to dodge, the forward momentum of Chen Chuan’s blade seemed to be spent. It looked like he would need to follow up with another exertion of force, which was the main reason Guo dared to execute his next move.

However, at that very moment, driven by the Mutated Organization within his body, his form flowed forward as smoothly as running water, without the slightest pause.

He stepped forward with his left foot, placed his left hand on the spine of his blade, and pressed forward. The next instant, a flash of cold light was resting against the side of Guo’s neck, who had not yet completed his turn. The long spear in his hands had only made it halfway through its rotation. Feeling the chill on his neck, he froze.

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